Do morio beetles HAVE to live on a grain-based substrate?

[Garetyl]

I've just gotten my first superworm pupa, and I'm on the fence about grains as a substrate. I really do like the looks of morio beetles and I'd ideally like to watch them go about their strange beetle-y lives, but the idea of looking at grains isn't appealing when compared to a more naturalistic setup. I understand that this means feeding them, but I don't mind.

They're going to be quasi-pet breeding stock, and I don't plan on raising thousands of mealworms. I just need enough mealies to feed my (current) arachnids and birbs.



I've got about 23~ more of these little guys getting ready to pupate.

 

[moricollins]

I used to keep mine on a mix of oatmeal and peat moss, it was a little more natural looking but still have the beetles and worms food to eat. I had a thriving colony this way for quite awhile.

 

[The Seraph]

Yes. It is the food they eat.

 

[Garetyl]

Yes. It is the food they eat.

I know they eat it, but I was hoping to use something else for them to live on as a substrate while providing them with grains and veggies/fruits to eat.

 

[The Seraph]

I know they eat it, but I was hoping to use something else for them to live on as a substrate while providing them with grains and veggies/fruits to eat.

You could mix it with a substrate, just leave enough of it in there that then can mature with it.

 

[Garetyl]

You could mix it with a substrate, just leave enough of it in there that then can mature with it.

Would a 50/50 mix be okay? Or would I need a higher grain to soil ratio?

 

[The Seraph]

Would a 50/50 mix be okay? Or would I need a higher grain to soil ratio?

I would do more grain so they can find it and have enough. Make sure the sub is dry.

 

[Hisserdude]

I bred Z.morio for years on coconut fiber, others have used compost, and I just offered grain based foods in a big juice bottle cap, and fruits and veggies straight onto the substrate. Much less of a chance of grain mite infestations that way IME, especially if half the enclosure is kept dry, the other half moist, and they are given good ventilation. Just be sure to feed them every couple of days, and remove uneaten food then if possible. I don't know how people breed them just on grain products, the younger larvae dessicate quite rapidly...

 

[Garetyl]

Hmm... Maybe I'll set up two colonies and see which one is better for the morios. I should have a lot of beetles soon, given all goes well and I get more pupa...

I don't know how people breed them just on grain products, the younger larvae dessicate quite rapidly...

Do you know if this is true for mealworms as well? I did have issues with my mealworms who survived the birdpocalypse dying when kept strictly in grains with fruit and vegetables slices. The three remaining survivors I had left are all doing much better with proper substrate with daily feedings. I originally had a dozen survivors...

 

[davehuth]

My mealworms and superworms are both on a mix of coconut fiber/sand/crushed leaves and wood. I scatter food around for them, and occasionally bury a carrot or sweet potato chunk for larvae. Maybe there's a more ideal substrate, but they're active and reproduce well on this set up.

 

[davehuth]

I also did that thing for about a year where I kept them exclusively on styrofoam with a couple damp cotton balls. Nothing "naturalistic" looking about that LOL, but it was pretty cool to watch animals living by eating styrofoam.

 

[StampFan]

I've just gotten my first superworm pupa, and I'm on the fence about grains as a substrate. I really do like the looks of morio beetles and I'd ideally like to watch them go about their strange beetle-y lives, but the idea of looking at grains isn't appealing when compared to a more naturalistic setup. I understand that this means feeding them, but I don't mind.

They're going to be quasi-pet breeding stock, and I don't plan on raising thousands of mealworms. I just need enough mealies to feed my (current) arachnids and birbs.

View attachment 311173

I've got about 23~ more of these little guys getting ready to pupate.

I can tell you from the kind I buy at the store the ones kept on peat/coco/top soil are *much* less likely to arrive (or become) infested with grain mites than those kept on more grain based substrate with just food added. A lot easier to pick out as well when they in a soil of some type.

 

[Polenth]

Do you know if this is true for mealworms as well? I did have issues with my mealworms who survived the birdpocalypse dying when kept strictly in grains with fruit and vegetables slices. The three remaining survivors I had left are all doing much better with proper substrate with daily feedings. I originally had a dozen survivors...

I initially put my mealworms on coco fibre. I now have them on porridge oats (with a few other food items mixed in). I've seen no sign that they dry out in either condition. However, mealworms are able to absorb water from the air. The relative humidity in my room is 60% at a minimum and often higher. This is one case where the humidity matters.

I gave up on coco fibre as they'll just pull the food all through it anyway, so it's not like it really looks better. I also found they like something to hide under/climb and egg boxes are more convenient than bark. I can just toss the cardboard into the compost when it needs changing.

 

[Hisserdude]

Hmm... Maybe I'll set up two colonies and see which one is better for the morios. I should have a lot of beetles soon, given all goes well and I get more pupa...

Do you know if this is true for mealworms as well? I did have issues with my mealworms who survived the birdpocalypse dying when kept strictly in grains with fruit and vegetables slices. The three remaining survivors I had left are all doing much better with proper substrate with daily feedings. I originally had a dozen survivors...

Mealworms can take MUCH drier conditions in my experience, I also had mine on coconut fiber, but I kept them bone dry, misting a corner or giving them an apple slice maybe once every few weeks.

 

[Garetyl]

I initially put my mealworms on coco fibre. I now have them on porridge oats (with a few other food items mixed in). I've seen no sign that they dry out in either condition. However, mealworms are able to absorb water from the air. The relative humidity in my room is 60% at a minimum and often higher. This is one case where the humidity matters.

I gave up on coco fibre as they'll just pull the food all through it anyway, so it's not like it really looks better. I also found they like something to hide under/climb and egg boxes are more convenient than bark. I can just toss the cardboard into the compost when it needs changing.

Hmm, then I either kept them too damp or got a batch kept at cooler temperatures for too long before I got them. Or a mix of both. I think I'll try keeping the mealies on grains again and see if giving them cardboard and veggies that are a little dryer helps.

 

[Lambda Tau]

I would think so. In the wild they didn't have massive piles of grain to live on, I think they are far less particular than commonly thought.

 

[Garetyl]

Well, I have two beetles so far, and six more pupa to go. For now, I tried keeping them on grains with egg carton hides, and they refused to venture down and only ate the carton. Until I gave them sprouted bird seeds. They quickly went to town on it.

On a side note, my isopods seem to love their sprouts too. I had to pull some out due to just how many seeds sprouted in their bin, and I had to shake so many babies off of the roots.



I think I'm going to go with a naturalistic setup as soon as I've got more sprouts. These guys seem to love their sprouts.

 

[mantisfan101]

I have never kept morio beetles in anything other than fermented wood shavings, rotten leaves, rotten hardwood, and coco fiber. The larvae are reared in a 50-50 mix of rotten hardwood and rotten hardwood leaves. They seem to prefer it more when the conditions are slightly more damp than usual, while I let the pupae develop in a dry container with no extra moisture other than the ambient room humidty/temps. They’ve all done fine for me but I gave up on them a while ago.

 

[Wayfarin]

I also did that thing for about a year where I kept them exclusively on styrofoam with a couple damp cotton balls. Nothing "naturalistic" looking about that LOL, but it was pretty cool to watch animals living by eating styrofoam.

I tried this, too. I kept two or three Z. morio and one T. molitor in a cup and fed them nothing but styrofoam and water. It was cool to watch the tenebrionids feed on that "indestructible" material and turn it into frass. They cannibalized aggressively on that diet, though. The survivors appeared to die during pupation.
I planned to avoid using them as feeders for fear that they possibly became poisonous.

 

[WhiteMoss]

They don't require any substrate. I've kept mine in a plastic file cabinet thing (ill attach pics) with holes drilled in the bottom for the worms to fall through. I toss in some egg crate for more surface area plus spots to hide. I've kept them like this for years and they've been producing like mad so there is no hindrance to reproduction.
(Sorry no pics on my phone. I'll add when I get home.)

But no they do not require substrate.